U.S. patent number 8,944,701 [Application Number 13/143,368] was granted by the patent office on 2015-02-03 for connector part for an optical plug-in connection.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Diamond SA. The grantee listed for this patent is Dionigi Fantini, Harry Uboldi. Invention is credited to Dionigi Fantini, Harry Uboldi.
United States Patent |
8,944,701 |
Uboldi , et al. |
February 3, 2015 |
Connector part for an optical plug-in connection
Abstract
A connector part for an optical plug-in connection includes a
connector pin, in which an optical waveguide stub extending over a
longitudinal center axis is held, and a sleeve-like pin holder. The
pin holder includes a pin accommodating section, in which the
connector pin is held, and an optical waveguide accommodating
section, to which the end of an optical waveguide cable can be
fixed in a tension-resistant manner. The optical waveguide
accommodating section includes at least two jacket parts that can
be connected to each other, wherein at least one jacket part can be
fastened to the pin accommodating section using a joint so that the
jacket part can be swiveled about a certain swivel angle between an
open position and a closed position. The optical waveguide stub can
be welded to an optical waveguide end on the cable side.
Inventors: |
Uboldi; Harry (Gordola,
CH), Fantini; Dionigi (Ghirla, IT) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Uboldi; Harry
Fantini; Dionigi |
Gordola
Ghirla |
N/A
N/A |
CH
IT |
|
|
Assignee: |
Diamond SA (Losone,
CH)
|
Family
ID: |
41151893 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/143,368 |
Filed: |
February 4, 2010 |
PCT
Filed: |
February 04, 2010 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/EP2010/051332 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
July 06, 2011 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2010/089336 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
August 12, 2010 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20110268393 A1 |
Nov 3, 2011 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
385/77; 385/94;
385/88; 385/65; 385/83; 385/53 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B
6/3855 (20130101); G02B 6/3846 (20130101); G02B
6/3861 (20130101); G02B 6/2558 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G02B
6/36 (20060101); G02B 6/38 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;385/53,55,76,77,78,88,89,92,93,94 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
|
|
|
|
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0 864 888 |
|
Sep 1998 |
|
EP |
|
3014250 |
|
Dec 1999 |
|
JP |
|
2002-82257 |
|
Mar 2002 |
|
JP |
|
2005-250294 |
|
Sep 2005 |
|
JP |
|
96/31795 |
|
Oct 1996 |
|
WO |
|
2004/001471 |
|
Dec 2003 |
|
WO |
|
2004/001472 |
|
Dec 2003 |
|
WO |
|
2009/011799 |
|
Jan 2009 |
|
WO |
|
Primary Examiner: Kianni; Kaveh
Assistant Examiner: Lam; Hung
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Nath, Goldberg & Meyer Meyer;
Jerald L. Thenor; Leonid D.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A plug part for an optical plug-in connection, comprising: a
plug pin, in which an optical waveguide stub is held, said optical
waveguide stub extending over a longitudinal mid-axis, and with a
bush-like pin holder, comprising a pin receiving section, in which
the plug pin is held in a fixed manner, and an optical waveguide
receiving section, to which an end of an optical waveguide cable or
an optical waveguide can be fixed in a manner resistant to tensile
stress preventing any relative movement between said end of the
optical waveguide cable or the optical waveguide and the plug pin,
the optical waveguide receiving section having at least two casing
parts which can be connected to one another, at least one casing
part being fastened or being able to be fastened on the pin
receiving section using a hinge in such a way that the casing part
can be pivoted through a predetermined pivot angle between an open
position and a closed position, wherein said optical waveguide
receiving section in its closed position is non-moveable in
relation to the plug pin and is non-moveable in the direction of
the longitudinal mid-axis of the plug part, and the optical
waveguide stub can be welded to a particular cable-side optical
waveguide end, the end of the optical waveguide stub which is
intended to be welded being located in the region of a touching
face of the casing parts, wherein the touching face is
substantially flat and the casing part exhibits at least at its
cable-side end a recess to accommodate the first plastic casing of
a waveguide end being welded to the waveguide stub, wherein at
least one of said casing parts has at least one adhesive layer,
which is preferably applied in the factory, for connecting said at
least two casing parts in order to completely embed and to protect
the optical waveguides which are welded to one another, wherein
said adhesive layer consists of a double-sided adhesive tape
covering the touching face, said adhesive tape further covering a
groove for receiving the first casing of the cable-side waveguide
in flat manner in order to surround the first plastic casing of the
optical waveguide when the casing parts are closed and to provide a
first strain-relief means for the optical waveguide.
2. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adhesive layer
is arranged in each case on one touching face of the casing parts,
said touching face lying opposite the adjacent casing part.
3. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adhesive layer
is covered by a protective film prior to the processing of the plug
part.
4. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adhesive layer
is elastic such that, when the two casing parts are pressed
together and adhesively bonded, the welded optical waveguide which
is located between the two casing parts or between the two adhesive
layers is enveloped completely by the adhesive layers.
5. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adhesive layer
has a thickness of between 80 .mu.m and 300 .mu.m, in particular
between 100 .mu.m and 200 .mu.m, preferably between 125 .mu.m and
150 .mu.m.
6. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said double-sided
adhesive tape contains an adhesive consisting of an acrylic
polymer.
7. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said optical
waveguide receiving section has a top part for connection to the
pin receiving section and two casing parts.
8. The plug part as claimed in claim 7, wherein at least one casing
part is fastened to said top part using a hinge in such a way that
the casing part can be pivoted through a specific pivot angle
between an open position and a closed position.
9. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pin receiving
section and said casing parts of the optical waveguide receiving
section are formed integrally.
10. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pin holder
consists of two shell parts, which can be assembled along the
longitudinal mid-axis, and at least one casing part is fastened to
a shell part using a hinge in such a way that said casing part can
be pivoted through a specific pivot angle between an open position
and a closed position.
11. The plug part as claimed in claim 8, wherein said pin holder
consists at least partially of a plastic material, and in that said
hinge is a film hinge.
12. The plug part as claimed in claim 1, wherein said casing parts
have positioning means which engage one inside the other for
joining said parts with an accurate fit.
Description
This is a National Phase Application filed under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.371 as a national stage of PCT/EP2010/051332, filed on Feb.
4, 2010, an application claiming the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119 of Swiss Patent Application No. 00164/09, filed on Feb.
5, 2009, the content of each of which is hereby incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a plug part for an optical plug-in
connection in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.
Such plug parts are preassembled in the factory, the connection to
the actual optical waveguide cable being made directly on the plug
part by means of welding under field conditions. The purpose of the
preassembly is that the difficult centering and fixing of the
optical waveguide in the plug pin and the complex polishing process
can be performed under suitable factory conditions.
Plug parts are known, for example, from prior art documents WO
96/31795 A1 and EP 864 888 A1. In order to attach the welding
electrodes, in this case special openings or cutouts are provided.
One disadvantage of these plug parts consists in that the weld
point itself is poorly accessible and in that observation of the
welding process is also made more difficult.
A plug part is also known from WO 2004/001472 A1, in accordance
with which two casing parts can be pivoted out of the longitudinal
mid-axis of the plug part, with the result that there is optimum
accessibility to the end of the preassembled optical waveguide stub
for welding purposes. After the welding process, the two casing
parts are provided with an adhesive and are pivoted back into their
initial position and adhesively bonded. Journals and journal
openings ensure correct positioning in the process. The two casing
parts are designed in such a way that, firstly, they surround the
casing of an optical waveguide tightly and, secondly, they envelop
the weld point of the optical waveguide without any force. This
plug part has a relatively complex configuration and needs to be
manufactured with precision. In addition, the two casing parts or
the optical waveguide are intended to be provided with an adhesive
under field conditions, which requires well trained personnel.
WO 2009/011799 A1 describes a substantially conventional plug-in
connector with an anti-kink sleeve. The anti-kink sleeve has a
collar at its end remote from the plug. This collar is used for
secure connection to a correspondingly formed splice protection
means. The splice protection means consists of two individual
casing parts. Each of the two casing parts has in each case one
cushion-like element in its interior, said cushion-like elements
enclosing the spliced fiber when the splice protection means is
closed. These cushion-like elements can be formed by in each case
one double-sided and cushioned adhesive tape. Such an external
splice protection means lengthens the distance between the plug
interface and the free cable and secondly places specific demands
on the anti-kink sleeve, which should not demonstrate any length
extension in particular in the case of tensile loading.
In the text which follows, the term optical waveguide is understood
as meaning an optical fiber as such, while the term optical
waveguide cable is understood as meaning one or more optical
waveguides with one or more additional plastic sheaths and optional
strain-relief means, for example in the form of aramid fibers.
In the text which follows, a plug part is understood as meaning
part of a plug which comprises a plug pin and a fastening element
for receiving an optical waveguide or an optical waveguide cable.
Once equipped with an optical waveguide or optical waveguide cable,
such a plug part can be introduced into a plug housing, with the
result that, for example, a standardized plug-in connector is
formed.
The object of the invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the
prior art. In particular, the intention is to provide a plug part
which makes the fiber stub easily accessible for welding and which
can be fitted easily under field conditions. The intention here is
to provide the possibility of performing both the preassembly and
the final assembly of the plug part quickly and without any complex
auxiliary means. Finally, the weld point is intended to be
protected in optimum fashion from mechanical loading and from
contamination as well as from environmental influences after final
assembly.
This object is achieved by a plug part having the features in claim
1. Further embodiments are given in the dependent patent
claims.
A plug part according to the invention for an optical plug-in
connection has a plug pin and a bush-like pin holder, the pin
holder comprising a pin receiving section and an optical waveguide
receiving section. The pin receiving section of the pin holder
receives the plug pin, while the end of an optical waveguide cable
or an optical waveguide can be fixed in a manner resistant to
tensile stress on the optical waveguide receiving section. The
optical waveguide receiving section has at least two casing parts
which can be connected to one another, at least one casing part
being fastened or being able to be fastened on the pin receiving
section using a hinge in such a way that the casing part can be
pivoted through a predetermined pivot angle between an open
position and a closed position. An optical waveguide stub is held
in the plug pin, wherein said optical waveguide stub extends over a
longitudinal mid-axis and can be welded to an end of an optical
waveguide cable or an optical waveguide. In this case, that end of
the optical waveguide stub which is intended to be welded is
located in the region of the casing parts. At least one of the
casing parts has at least one adhesive layer, which is preferably
applied in the factory, for connecting the at least two casing
parts. Owing to the fact that the adhesive layer for connecting the
casing parts has already been provided, the fitting process under
field conditions is considerably facilitated. In addition, the
fitter does not need to carry any separate adhesive and it is not
necessary for correct metering to be performed in situ. Likewise,
contamination of sensitive plug and tool parts with adhesive as a
result of inappropriate handling is avoided.
The adhesive layer is advantageously arranged in each case on one
touching face of the casing parts, said touching face lying
opposite the adjacent casing part. Thus, the casing parts can be
connected to one another easily and the optical waveguide is
surrounded on both sides.
The adhesive layer can be covered by a protective film prior to the
processing of the plug part. As a result, the handling of the plug
part is simplified, the casing parts do not adhere to one another
in an undesirable manner and the adhesive layer is protected from
contamination and drying out. If the protective film protrudes
beyond the adhesive layer at least one point, it is more easily
possible for the protective film to be gripped and removed.
The adhesive layer is advantageously elastic such that, when the
two casing parts are pressed together and adhesively bonded, the
welded optical waveguide which is located between the two casing
parts or between the two adhesive layers is enveloped completely by
the adhesive layers. At the same time, the welded optical waveguide
is thus protected from environmental influences, such as moisture,
for example. In addition, owing to the elasticity of the adhesive
layer, unnecessary stresses on the weld point of the optical
waveguide are avoided.
If the adhesive layer has a thickness of between 80 .mu.m and 300
.mu.m, in particular between 100 .mu.m and 200 .mu.m, preferably
between 125 .mu.m and 150 .mu.m and the adhesive layer has
corresponding elasticity, it is even possible to dispense with a
groove in the casing part corresponding to the optical
waveguide.
The adhesive layer can consist of a double-sided adhesive tape.
This facilitates the preassembly of the plug part since the
protective film is thus already provided as standard.
The adhesive tape can also consist of a substrate material and
adhesive on both sides. Alternatively, an adhesive tape which only
consists of an adhesive is also conceivable. Preferably, the
adhesive is a substance suitable for optical fibers, for example an
acrylic polymer.
The optical waveguide receiving section can have a top part for
connection to the pin receiving section and two casing parts. The
top part can have, for example, a snap-action closure which
interacts with the pin receiving section. Owing to the fact that
the optical waveguide receiving section and the pin receiving
section are separated from one another, various materials with
different properties can be used. The separation also has
advantages in terms of the manufacture of the two parts.
In addition, at least one casing part is fastened to the top part
using a hinge. Advantageously, the hinge is designed in such a way
that the casing part can be pivoted through a specific pivot angle
between an open position and a closed position. As a result, the
casing part can be pivoted out of its initial position, in which it
is parallel to the longitudinal mid-axis of the plug part, away
from that end of the optical waveguide stub which is intended for
welding, into an open position in order to perform the welding
process. That end of the optical waveguide stub which is intended
for welding is thus free and is easily accessible for the
welding.
The pin receiving section and the optical waveguide receiving
section with its casing parts can also be formed integrally. For
example, the plug pin could be cast into the pin receiving section.
Other types of fastening such as pressing-in or incorporation by
adhesively bonding are likewise conceivable. Handling of the plug
part in the field is thus simplified and the manufacture is made
less expensive since there is no need for any further individual
parts.
However, the pin holder can also consist of two shell parts, which
can be assembled along the longitudinal mid-axis. It is likewise
advantageous if in this case at least one casing part is fastened
to a pin receiving section of one shell part using a hinge in such
a way that the casing part can be pivoted through a specific pivot
angle between an open position and a closed position. In this case,
the two shell parts are each formed integrally, with the result
that, in turn, only a few individual parts are provided.
The pin holder advantageously consists at least partially of a
plastic material, in particular of polyphenylene oxide (PPO). It is
furthermore advantageous if the hinge is a film hinge.
The casing parts can have positioning means which engage one inside
the other for joining said parts with an accurate fit. Such
positioning means have, for example, the form of protruding bolts
or recesses or are simple journal/journal opening combinations.
These positioning means ensure that the casing parts are assembled
in a simple and reliable manner in the correct position.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference
to figures, which merely illustrate exemplary embodiments and in
which:
FIG. 1 shows an exploded illustration of a plug part according to
the invention,
FIG. 2 shows a pin receiving section prior to fitting of the
optical waveguide stub,
FIG. 3 shows the pin receiving section shown in FIG. 2 with the
optical waveguide stub fitted,
FIG. 4 shows the pin receiving section shown in FIG. 3 prior to the
connection to the optical waveguide receiving section,
FIG. 5 shows the prefabricated plug part shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 6 shows the plug part shown in FIG. 5 during the welding
operation,
FIG. 7 shows the plug part shown in FIG. 6 during peeling-off of a
protective film,
FIG. 8 shows the completely prefabricated plug part,
FIG. 9 shows a cross section through the plug part shown in FIG.
8,
FIG. 10 shows the plug part shown in FIG. 8 prior to insertion into
a plug housing,
FIG. 11 shows a cross section through a completely assembled
plug.
FIG. 1 shows an exploded illustration of a plug part 1 according to
the invention arranged on a longitudinal mid-axis 3. The plug part
1 consists of a plug pin 2 and a pin holder 4, which comprises a
pin receiving section 5 and an optical waveguide receiving section
6. The optical waveguide receiving section 6 has two casing parts
8, 8', which are connected to a top part 12 via in each case one
hinge 9, 9' in the form of a film hinge. The top part 12 is used
for connecting the optical waveguide receiving section 6 to the pin
receiving section 5 and is substantially in the form of a bush. For
this connection, the optical waveguide receiving section 6 and the
pin receiving section 5 have locking means (not shown) which enable
a simple snap-on connection. The top part 12 has a tab 13, which
fits into a corresponding groove-shaped anti-rotation means 36 in
the pin receiving section 5 and makes a rotation of the optical
waveguide receiving section 6 relative to the pin receiving section
5 impossible. The two casing parts 8, 8' each have a touching face
11, 11' for receiving in each case one adhesive layer 25, 25' In
this case, the two adhesive layers 25, 25' are protected on one
side by a protective film 26, 26' In order to simplify the precise
positioning as the two casing parts 8, 8' are closed, said casing
parts have a positioning means in the form of protruding bolts 27
or recesses 28 at the cable-side ends of said casing parts. A
groove 29 is formed in the casing parts 8, 8' in order t
accommodate the cable-side waveguide therein.
FIG. 2 shows a pin receiving section 5 prior to fitting of the
optical waveguide stub 21. In this case, the plug pin 2 is already
fitted in the pin receiving section 5. Said plug pin can be pressed
in, incorporated by adhesive bonding or encapsulated by the pin
receiving section 5 being injection-molded directly around it.
Other types of fastening are likewise conceivable. The pin
receiving section has a groove-shaped anti-rotation means 36
parallel to the longitudinal axis of said pin receiving section,
said anti-rotation means firstly being used to receive a tab of the
optical waveguide receiving section (not shown) and secondly
ensuring the aligned incorporation in a plug housing. The pin
receiving section 5 has a through-bore, with the result that the
optical waveguide of the optical waveguide stub 21 can be pushed
from the side remote from the plug pin 2 through the pin receiving
section 5 into the plug pin 2. In addition, this bore is expanded
on the side remote from the plug pin 2, with the result that, in
addition to the optical waveguide, a first plastic sheath of the
optical waveguide stub 21 can also be received.
FIG. 3 shows the pin receiving section 5 shown in FIG. 2 with the
optical waveguide stub 21 fitted. The optical waveguide stub 21 is
incorporated in the pin receiving section 5 and the plug pin 2 by
adhesive bonding. In addition, it has already been shortened to the
correct length and that end 22 of the optical waveguide stub 21
which is intended to be welded protrudes out of the pin receiving
section 5.
FIG. 4 shows the pin receiving section 5 shown in FIG. 3 prior to
the connection to the optical waveguide receiving section 6. The
casing parts 8, 8' of the optical waveguide receiving section 6 are
equipped with the adhesive layers 25, 25' in the form of a
double-sided adhesive tape and the corresponding protective films
26, 26'. The adhesive layer 25, 25' corresponds in terms of its
size to the touching face 11, 11' (cf. FIG. 1). The protective film
26, 26' is in the form of an L and overlaps the adhesive layer
laterally. Thus, the protective film 26, 26' can be gripped easily
even under non-optimal environmental conditions and the adhesive
layer 25, 25' can be exposed without any problems.
FIG. 5 shows the prefabricated plug part 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.
The optical waveguide receiving section is placed with its top part
12 onto the pin receiving section 5 and secured by the locking
means. The tab 13 of the top part 12 is located in the
groove-shaped anti-rotation means 36 of the pin receiving section
5. The optical waveguide stub 21 protrudes through a bore in the
top part 12, with the result that the end 22 to be welded comes to
lie in the region of the two casing parts 8, 8' of the optical
waveguide receiving section.
FIG. 6 shows the plug part 1 shown in FIG. 5 during the welding
operation. An optical waveguide end 23 from which the insulation
has been stripped of an optical waveguide cable 7 is led up to that
end 22 of the optical waveguide stub 21 which is intended to be
welded and is welded thereto. The two arrows L, L' in this case
represent the arc for welding the two ends 22, 23 of the optical
waveguide. The two hinges 9, 9' enable pivoting of the two casing
parts 8, 8' of the optical waveguide receiving section into the
open position illustrated, with the result that that end 22 of the
optical waveguide stub 21 which is intended to be welded or the
optical waveguide end 23 of the optical waveguide cable 7 is freely
accessible on all sides for the welding operation.
FIG. 7 shows the plug part 1 shown in FIG. 6 after the welding
operation during peeling-off of the protective film 26. The optical
waveguide cable 7 is connected to the plug part 1 and the two ends
22, 23 of the optical waveguide are welded to one another. Before
the two casing parts 8, 8' are pivoted into their closed position,
the protective film 26, 26' needs to be peeled off from each casing
part 8, 8' so that the two adhesive layers 25, 25' are exposed.
FIG. 8 shows the completely prefabricated plug part 1. The two
casing parts 8, 8' are in their closed position and are held
together by the two adhesive layers 25, 25'. The two hinges 9, 9'
are extended. The optical waveguide cable 7, the pin holder 4 and
the plug pin 2 form one unit.
FIG. 9 shows a cross section through the completely manufactured
plug part 1 shown in FIG. 8. The ends 22, 23 of the optical
waveguide cable 7 and the optical waveguide stub 21 which are
welded to one another are embedded between the two casing parts 8,
8' and are completely surrounded by the adhesive layers 25, 25' and
therefore fixed. Likewise, the first plastic casing of the optical
waveguide cable 7 is also surrounded by the two adhesive layers 26,
26', with the result that a first strain-relief means is provided
for the optical waveguide or the weld point.
FIG. 10 shows the plug part 1 shown in FIG. 8 prior to insertion
into a corresponding plug housing 14. The plug part 1 is in this
case plugged, with its plug pin leading, into the plug housing 14,
where the plug part 1 latches. In order to protect against
excessive bending loading of the optical waveguide cable 7, an
anti-kink sleeve 39 is provided at the rear end of the plug housing
14.
FIG. 11 shows a cross section through a completely assembled plug.
The plug part 1 is in this case inserted into the plug housing 14.
A latch-in cap 37 is used for securely holding the plug part 1 in
the plug housing 14. Fingers of the latch-in cap 37 in this case
engage into the peripheral groove in the pin receiving section 5 of
the plug part 1. The latch-in cap 37 and therefore also the plug
part 1 is mounted movably in the plug housing 14 counter to the
force of a spring 38. In this case, the spring 38 is supported on
the crimping neck 34, which delimits the plug housing at its rear
end. The anti-kink means 39 is placed onto the crimping neck 34 and
prevents excessive bending loading of the optical waveguide cable
7.
If the optical waveguide cable also has strain-relief means in the
form of aramid fibers or the like and a further sheath, the
strain-relief means can be connected fixedly to the crimping neck
34 with a crimping sleeve in a conventional manner. The anti-kink
means is corresponding shaped in such a case such that it engages
over the crimping sleeve.
* * * * *